Search For the Ultimate Athlete

I am not referring to Deoxyribonucleic acid, present in all of us and essential for all known forms of life.  I am not a scientist!  But, I am a passionate athlete and someone determined to find the best that sports has to offer.  So, what is my definition of DNA? Distinct Necessities in Athletics

Lets look at the key and vital elements SFUA will include when testing all athletes participating in Search For the Ultimate Athlete:

Speed*:

Fast-twitch muscle fibers are crucial for explosive performance and fast reflexes.  Speed can be developed through a muscle building program and sprint workouts.  These muscle fibers are essential for short bursts of strength and speed in football, boxing, martial arts, gymnastic, hockey, swimming, track & field, etc.

Endurance*:

Slow-twitch muscle fibers are regarded as endurance fibers, necessary to perform in disciplines over a long period of time.  Mid-distance and long distance running or cycling, soccer, cross-country skiing, skating or any discipline requiring performance for a long period of time.

*Many disciplines or sports require both types of muscle fibers, since many combine anaerobic and aerobic elements during participation.  Soccer, basketball and water polo, are good examples.

 Strength:

Strongman type competitions used to define shear strength and were used to test competitors in various ways: dynamic test of strength and also pure static strength.  In today’s athletic world, strength has taken on a new meaning.  We see it in free-climbing, cross-fit competitions, MMA and in traditional sports such as football, rugby, etc.

Agility:

Agility is an essential and possibly the most important component for overall athletic domination, especially in multi-sport events.  It combines so many critical elements necessary to perform at a higher level, allowing the body to move and change direction using: Coordination – Balance – Speed – Endurance – Reflexes – Strength.  Sports like gymnastics, martial arts, tennis, figure skating, parkour and skateboarding require a tremendous amount of agility in addition to basic skills for each discipline.

Accuracy:

Precision sports vary a lot, ranging from target shooting, soccer, golf, basketball, tennis, baseball, to skydiving, curling or bowling.  Accuracy is not to be undermined in sports when evaluating athletic skills requiring overall fitness and mental toughness.

VO2MAX:

Maximal oxygen uptake is one of the best measurements to determine cardiovascular fitness and aerobic endurance, and is necessary to perform at a high level of intensity in most sports.  Female elite athletes have been evaluated with higher VO2 max values than most men.

Technical Skills:

Athletic talent or natural ability is a must to succeed in sports, but I’m talking about being able to understand and perform the actual mechanics and techniques linked to not only a few sports, but to a multitude of sports in SFUA.

Fear Management:

Sports have evolved, so has the environment where they are being played.  Emerging, action and extreme sports are now defying all rules and are pushing boundaries to a new level.  Today, athletes have to be tested physically and mentally, and be pushed way beyond their comfort zone….if they want to be the Ultimate Athlete.

Teamwork:

Teamwork is necessary in just about any sport, regardless if the sport is considered an individual or a team discipline.  Cooperating with others is essential to succeed in sports, whether it is relying on your teammates, your coach, your training partner or sometimes even your opponents.  Cycling and marathon running are good examples of strategic alliances during a race.

Mental Alertness:

Competition in sports is a constant psychological battle.  If not managed properly, it can accelerate physical energy depletion.  Concentration, visualization, relaxation and confidence, known as mental strategy, will lead to overall performance improvement.

Creativity:

Problem-solving skills and innovation when competing or just while participating in sports are a huge advantage to any athlete.  Combined with mental alertness, it allows a competitor to make the necessary adjustment and potentially change an average performance into a winning result.

 Sportsmanship:

Fairness, respect, fellowship and ethics should always be an integral part of sports.  Winning at all costs sends the wrong message.  Doing the right thing, even if it means sacrificing a victory is part of being an Ultimate Athlete.  During the multi-sport SFUA competition, doing the right thing will inevitably occur, but it is unlikely it will change the outcome of the competition…because the best of the best will prevail!

In my last posts, I spoke a lot about  the notion of the Ultimate Athlete, explaining my views and position on the matter: Undoubtedly, as an athlete, I am passionate about the subject but there is much more at stake with Search For the Ultimate Athlete (SFUA)  than just finding “the one”, the athlete that can truly do it all and do it all exceptionally well.  Being an awesome athlete requires more than physical prowess while performing.  It requires discipline to train, mental toughness and alertness to compete and commitment to succeed in one or in many sports.  Doing it all exceptionally well also extend beyond the moment on the playing field.

Unfortunately, when it comes to sports, we live in a culture focusing to much on scores, stats,winners
losers and also on all the scandals surrounding sports and athletes.  Disgrace is found  at the professional level, in team sports, at the Olympics, on the golf course and even in college sports.  Yesterday, Lance Armstrong “officially” came clean on cheating while competing…A story pertaining to a locker brawl following the loss of the USC Trojans in the Sun Bowl was on Yahoo News and I won’t get into  the headline on CBSSports.com titled “Steroid scandal could destroy what UFC has built”.  What a shame!

Being among the best comes with a   responsibility to the sport, the athletes and the millions of fans looking up to those individuals.  Being a role model off the field is directly associated with how an athlete will behave while competing. If you are a trouble maker or a cheater off the field, it is highly probable you will do anything possible, legal or illegal, to win and at any cost.  Lets not forget the New Orleans Saints, Sean Payton, and their “pay for performance” to hurt players.  Nicole Cook, 2008 Beijing Games road race gold medalist, said it best when speaking about  the impact on athletes choosing to play fair and by the rule:  “Those genuine people walked away with no reward, just shattered dreams”.  She was speaking for all the athletes who decided to honor their sport and maintain  integrity as athletes and as people.  It is all part of being an Ultimate Athlete, or at least it will be for the SFUA Ultimate Athlete.

I am not implying all high profile athletes, mostly in professional sports, are driven strictly by the desire to win at any costs, because many of them “play the game” primarily because of their love for their sport.  Some  have been exemplary on the field and off the field, by engaging in many worthy causes, but we need to raise the bar and reach a new level when it comes to sports role models in general.  Raising the bar for Search For the Ultimate Athlete will not only apply to the athletes’ social responsibility, but it will also apply to the level competitors they are being tested at.  Stay tuned!

Many years ago, I decided to do a survey, asking a broad range of people (including athletes, trainers, coaches, Bio-mechanics exercise science experts and sports fans) a couple of basic questions: “Who is the current ultimate athlete in the world? and why?”. Those two questions had been on my mind for a long time and whenever I would bring up the topic in conversations, at competitions where I worked at or at events I participated in, the same outcome would occur: Very few people, if any, agreed on the same athlete and if they did, it was for totally different reasons.

 What fascinated me the most in my survey was, no matter whom I spoke to: Football fans, basketball fans, hockey fans, triathletes, avid cyclists, runners, skiers or track & field athletes, there was always a certain “favoritism” towards their sport, or at least their sport genre. I realized athletes and sports fans are very loyal to their own community, but I was also very surprised to see how narrow minded many of them were when considering athletes belonging to other sports or belonging to the other side of the fence. What I mean by the other side of the fence is…there are definitely two major camps in the world of sports: The traditional sports camp which includes all the major league team sports, in addition to sports like boxing, car racing, golf, tennis, etc., and the Emerging/Action/Extreme sports camp, which includes most of the new sports we’ve seen develop in the last 20-30 years.

 Since I began working on SFUA, I have been accused of advocating for the extreme type sports and athletes. Maybe so now…but it wasn’t always the case. I grew up playing some of the basic team sports: Hockey, baseball, football and also skiing. For the longest time my idols were the Joe Namath, Michael Jordan, “Rocket” Richard and Jean Claude Killy of sports, until one athlete came onto the scene: Shaun Palmer. Someone who not only was totally fearless, but who’s also hugely talented and athletic! At the same time, I began following the evolution of triathlon and Ironman, the birth of new competitions and event like the X-Games, the Raid Gauloises and today, events like Spartan Race and CrossFit Games. What I realized when looking into the background and achievements of certain athletes participating in extreme competitions was: Some of them were in a category of their own. Does that mean I am favoring such athletes? No, I am simply looking at their list of accomplishments and the level/caliber they perform at, not only in a couple of sports, but in so many different sports and disciplines. One of the best examples is Mike Klosser. If you haven’t heard of Mike, Google his name and you will see what I am talking about. The man is simply exceptional as an athlete, on so many levels.

 Mike is just one example of individuals, relatively unknown to the mass unless you live in Colorado or participate in Adventure Racing. Mike can perform way beyond the average athlete and would most likely outperform just about any of today’s high profile professional athletes… in a true multi-sport competition*. Why? Because athletes like Mike are not specialists. They are generalists with such a strong and broad base athletically, in addition to having the rare ability to conquer a sport or a discipline in a fraction of the time that would be required for most of us. The best of generalists have been exposed to a multitude of sports, usually over a few decades, acquiring an abundance of critical technical skills, in addition to reaching a high level of fitness through cross-training, thus allowing them to cross over to just about any sport and quite easily. Such individuals, male and female athletes, are out there! Unfortunately for the sports community, those athletes remain mostly unknown and this is where SFUA comes in. Our mission is to test them across the board and to finally give them the recognition they deserve.

 Team sport athletes and traditional sport athletes deserve respect and credit, because they are amazing at the sport they are well know for and possibly for one or two additional disciplines they thrive at. Those athletes should be acknowledged as possibly the best in their specific discipline, but not as the best athlete in the world. The sports community as a whole focuses too much on strength, speed and sometimes on the word “power”… SFUA is not about favoring one of the two major sports camps, SFUA is about bringing together the most versatile athletes capable of crossing over between traditional sports and emerging sports and perform at a very high level in 20+ sports. Who will show up for such a competition? Who will be willing to face possible humiliation and defeat in such a competition? Who will rise undoubtedly, no matter what camp he or she belongs to? So, my pick for the Ultimate Athlete is Mike Beckner…

If you think you are the “one” or if you know who’s the “one”, let us know. Post here or on our Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/searchfortheultimateathlete

Best wishes for the Holiday Season!

SFUA Team

In my previous post I mentioned male and female athletes will go head to head in the SFUA competition. Indeed, they will! In these days and age, it is time to finally have a competition that will test both sexes, equally and without any form of “handicap”… or advantages. By the way, I do not like the word “handicap”, based on its definition*: “a race or other contest in which certain disadvantages or advantages of weight, distance, time, etc., are placed upon competitors to equalize their chances of winning.” As we were designing or as I like to say “cooking the recipe” for the format and disciplines we were going to include in SFUA, the issue of fairness was always an element of concern… But, not from the perspective of male vs female. We were more focused on designing a competition that would not favor a certain “category” of athletes. The running type for instance (probably the most obvious), or the strength athletes, or the endurance type individuals, could easily benefit from an event poorly devised.

Most important, we had to develop a format that would test all participants on so many levels: Speed / Endurance / Strength / VO2 Max / Agility (Mental & Physical) / Accuracy / Technical Skills (in a multitude of sports) / Teamwork / Fear Management / Strategy / Creativity. We had to create a uniquely difficult and objectively fair comparison across all types of athletes: fast-twitch vs slow-twitch, endurance vs speed and strength, team oriented vs solo athletes and more. Ultimately, in a competition including the right selection of disciplines and as important, incorporating a well designed elimination process, should result into a competition where the gender factor would not be a factor. One thing we are certain of: Female athletes want to go head to head with their male counterparts! We keep seeing it all the time. Lindsey Vaughn wanted to ski race against the boys, Dania Patrick, Manon Rheaume in hockey and lately the 9 year old football sensation, Samantha Gordon, the young girl football player:

There is no doubt, the SFUA competition format will fuel a conversation and launch a debate among athletes and sports fans. Many will see it as not being “legitimate”, especially when putting men and women in the same competing arena. Many will assume a female athlete could not win against male competitors…but, how would anyone know if it has never truly been done…and certainly never been done to the extent athletes will be tested in SFUA‘s event. Examining top results or world records in specific sports or disciplines, where male athletes mostly dominate, and comparing between male and female results, does not show what is needed to become the “Ultimate Athlete”, it only shows who would perform better in one specific discipline… but, how would that same male competitor fair in 20 different competitions…possibly disciplines that would require different attributes and technical skills that he doesn’t necessarily master or even possess? And for all the skeptics out there, strength is indeed one element favoring male athletes…at least, some of them…and then again, maybe not…

I look forward to your comments and please pass along to friends, associates and sports fans.
Cheers

Yves
SFUA Founder

It has been a long time since the last post on our blog… Actually, this is my first post on it. From now on, I will be posting on a regular basis and I will do my best to make it as interesting as possible. By the way, our website looks slightly different: A new banner at the top of each page, representing more accurately SFUA‘s mission, and also a new video.

Personally, I am as eager as ever to find the Ultimate Athlete… Why? It still has not been done! That’s why. Watching the Olympics this past summer, especially the last discipline of the decathlon, the 1,500 meters, and listening to the commentator on NBC proclaiming to the world that Ashton Eaton was “…The world’s greatest athlete”… and also being reminded by Ashton of his claim to fame during an interview on NBC, following his victory…. keeps me determined and on a mission to achieve this quest. I don’t want to take away Ashton’s amazing accomplishment. What he did: Winning the gold medal, a new world record in individual disciplines and a new world record for the decathlon, should be recognized, but it should be recognized in the arena of track & field, not in the full spectrum of sports.

In the decathlon, all disciplines are confined to a track, a stadium … A controlled and “safe” environment… An environment that’s totally predictable, an environment that will never change, except for the possibility of rain or wind. All disciplines follow an established order. That will never change, with no element of surprise. As an athlete, you get into a zone and that zone will evolve automatically, following the predictable order of each discipline: 1 through 10… Well, you get the point.

The world has changed…Sports have evolved and athletes are now competing at a whole new level. The decathlete was probably the Ultimate Athlete 50 years ago, as the Gladiator was the Ultimate Warrior in Roman Times, but TODAY??? Emerging and action sports, a phenomena of the last 20 years, have changes the rules and expectations in sport. Although sports have always included a certain level of adrenaline and shear physicality, like in traditional contact sports, many athletes now face a level of danger never experienced before. That new dimension in sports has developed from sports like: Free-riding Mt-biking, extreme skiing and snowboarding, white water kayaking, big wave surfing, free climbing and the list goes on. Many of the athletes participating in those sports push the limit and put their lives on the line every time they get out there.

Unlike a football player or a hockey player, who might get “banged-up” on their secured playing field during the game, the new generation of athletes often have to face the biggest adversary out there: Mother Nature and I’m not talking about a slippery football field with an inch of snow on it. I truly believe the element of real danger, when practicing a true adrenaline sport or discipline, would take a large portion of potential participants out of a competition. I’ve watched kayakers go over waterfalls, skiers waiting to drop off a cornice and into a nearly vertical snow chute and I know it takes a unique individual to go for it. Very few traditional sport athletes would have the mindset and also the necessary skills to attempt those disciplines… while many emerging and action sport athletes have played or practiced traditional sports. In fact, many of them cross-over between traditional and emerging sports and they are quite amazing at the whole spectrum of sports.

Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to play and work with many of those “specimens” and they never cease to amaze me and that’s the premise behind Search For the Ultimate Athlete. These amazing men and women are out there and they can do it all… I’ve seen it! And now it’s time to bring them in the spotlight. It is also time to challenge the sport establishment… It needs a shakedown! I am sorry but, the best athlete in the world is not someone who plays football and baseball or is the winner of the decathlon. In his interview after winning the gold medal, Ashton Eaton said ,“…we try to master 10 (disciplines) as best as we can”… that’s great in track and field, but that’s simply not enough in today’s athletic world. SFUA proposes testing athletes in 20 different sports, from all realms of sports…a true test…the Ultimate sport competition! By the way, SFUA is not a restricted competition… what I mean by this is…this is not for “boys only”. Men and women will go head to head in this competition, and guess what?… women athletes are looking forward to it. More on that later.

I think this is enough to get the ball rolling. More to come soon. I look forward to your posts & comments and please pass along to your friends.

Cheers
Yves Garceau
SFUA Founder